Senior Compensation Analyst

GENERAL JOB DESCRIPTION

The Senior Compensation Analyst is a member of the Finance team and is responsible for the development, analysis, and administration of all compensation and reward programs and policies. With a highly analytical approach and proficiency in navigating data systems and tools, the person in this position will focus on compensation program administration and in-depth analyses of pay structures, job profiles, market benchmarking, the variable pay program administration, and the annual bonus and merit process. The Senior Compensation Analyst will ensure our programs reflect our overall compensation philosophy, aligned with business objectives, competitive to the market for attracting and retaining skilled talent, and compliant with applicable laws and regulations.

The Senior Compensation Analyst must be detail-oriented and analytical. This person will play a crucial role in designing, implementing, and managing compensation and variable pay programs to attract and retain top talent while aligning with organizational goals.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, develop, and implement new and revised compensation programs, policies, and procedures to align with the firm's goals, culture, and competitive practices.
• Conduct research and analysis to ensure MAI is offering fair, equitable, and competitive total compensation packages, including collecting and analyzing data from market-based compensation surveys and studies and leveraging the Market Pricing tool.
• Communicate changes and updates in compensation plans to relevant stakeholders; collaborate with HR team to effectively communicate compensation policies, practices, and changes to employees.
• Provide financial analysis related to compensation expenses and forecasting to support the forecasting and budgeting process. Maintain data integrity, validate accuracy of information, and support audit requirements.
• Ensure commission plans align with business objectives and motivate performance.
• Work closely with the regions and Finance to ensure accurate calculation, payment, accounting, analysis, and reporting of commissions for respective teams and plans.
• Ensure programs align with and are compliant with all state and federal employee relations / compensation statutes and legislation, including: FLSA, determining exemption status of jobs, assessing classification of associates, minimum wage and pay equity, etc. Conduct periodic audits of Compensation data to ensure accuracy and compliance.
• Work cross functionally with other departments to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of pay amounts and accounting treatment.
• In partnership with HR and Finance, lead the analysis, recommendation, and administration of the annual process for salary increases, annual bonus and quarterly commissions.
• Generate internal documentation on compensation plans, reporting guidelines and compensation related FAQs, and manage employee inquiries.
• Build and maintain compensation metrics, reports, and tools to inform compensation program decisions and analyze business outcomes, including focusing our resources on what matters most.
• Evaluate jobs using established evaluation methodologies and recommend job placement within established grade structures based on the content of the job and various salary survey sources.
• Lead all phases of the position benchmarking process including survey participation, responding to routine survey vendor requests, analysis of the returned survey data, and coordinating the impact of survey data on the placement of jobs within salary grades.
• Keep current on trends and market practices to recommend process improvements and support the overall competitiveness of the firm’s compensation philosophy and programs.
• Participate in activities such as planning, budgeting, systems set up, communications, analysis, and presentation of proposed annual programs.
• Monitor FTE replacement and incremental adds as well as compensation adjustments to ensure overall compensation aligns with budget (and if not, works with Regional or Shared Services leaders to support changes incremental to budget)

EXPERIENCE/CREDENTIALS

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• 6 – 9 years’ experience specializing in rewards and compensation programs and analysis, or equivalent experience within a multi-business organization; wealth management or professional services industry experience preferred
• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) or Compensation Management Specialist (CMS) designation or progression towards either preferred.
• Experience designing, communicating, implementing, and administering major compensation programs such as annual merit planning, sales compensation and commissions, long-term incentive plans, and annual bonus programs.
• Experience implementing and maintaining compensation planning tools and processes, and using a Market Data Analysis tool, such as MarketPay (or similar).
• Experience working in a rapidly expanding, fast-growing organization.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Suite (Excel, Power BI and PowerApps, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word) and Adobe Acrobat Pro.

COMPETENCIES

• Thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced team-based environment; ability to balance competing priorities while remaining flexible and showing a strong sense of urgency.
• Maintains absolute confidentiality of employee, client and company data and safeguards highly confidential and sensitive information; maintains high ethical standard in all practices.
• Demonstrated knowledge of compensation theory, practices, and policies, including job analysis, design, evaluation, and salary administration as well as federal and state wage and hour law.
• Excellent quantitative and analytical skills; strong understanding of statistical concepts and analysis used in making compensation decisions and competitor analysis.
• Advanced working knowledge of MS Excel and database tools; ability to export and review data from HRIS systems.
• Strong project management, time management, organizational and problem-solving skills; excellent attention to detail and accuracy; ability to multi-task and work in a deadline-driven environment even with shifting priorities.
• Ability to conceptualize a business problem, define relevant issues, determine a methodology for exploring the problem, define alternatives, and develop recommendations based on data analysis.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Professional demeanor, superb work ethic, high level of personal ethics and integrity.